Improvement in methods of making paper barrels



\ Y l. L. THUMS Y Method of Making Paper-Barrels. No.154,300..PatentedAug.18,1s74.

' THE RPHICCO. FFOTOUTHS S1 4l PARK FLACEJLY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JUDSON L. THOMSON, OF BELOIT, WISCONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN METHODS oF MAKlNG PAPER BARRELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 154,300, dated AugustV18, 1874 application filed May 8, 1874.

To all whom it may concern: i

Be it known that I, JUnsoN L. TnoMsoN, of Beloit, in the county of Rockand State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Paper Flour-Barrels; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description ofY the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a barrelconstructed in accordance with my invention and without heads and hoops.Fig. 2 is la view of the barrel on the expanding cylinder. Fig. 3 is aside elevationof the rollers for hardening, compressing, and finishingthe interior and exterior surfaces of the barrel? Fig. 4t is atransverse section of the rollers,.

` showing the application of the barrel thereto,

for hardening, compressing, and finishing its interior -and exteriorsurfaces. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the finished barrel hooped andheaded. Figs. 6 and -7 are detail views, to be hereinafter referred to.

Similar letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the severalfigures of the drawings.

Myinvention has for `.its object to improve that class of flour-barrelswhich are composed of paper, for the purpose of cheapening the cost ofmanufacture, in time, labor, and material, and for producing a stronger,more compact, and better barrel. To this end the invention consists inthe method of brminga seamless iiour-barrel by first winding aweb ofsoft paper-pulp, from the cylinder of awetpaper machine directly upon anexpanding cylinder until the requisite thickness for the barrel-has beenreached, then contracting and withdrawing the cylinder while the barrelis still wet, so that both the interior and exterior surfaces ofthelatter shall be exposed to the action of the air or other dryingmedium at the same time to prevent the layers of the web from crackingand Y peeling olf; and, lastly, in hardening, compacting, smoothing, and-nishing its interior, and exterior surfaces between rollers of lessVdiameter than the barrel.' 1

I am aware that sheets of papier-mache have been made by winding the wetpulp around a cylinder to the requisite thickness, and then cutting itlongitudinally, so that it can be removed from the cylinder and spreadout into a flat sheet. This, however, does not and cannot form aseamless barrel since the paper must be cut or severed longitudinallybefore it can be removed from the formingcylinder, and this, of course,destroys at once the cylindrical form. Iam also aware that in theformation of roving-cams for use in the manufacture of yarns it has beensuggested that the fresh sheet of paper just from the paper-machine maybe wound directly onto a cylindrical former and adhere and felt togetherso as to be united. I do not regard this as coming within the scope ofmy invention, because the fresh sheet, of paper is not the soft web ofpulp from the cylinder of a Wet machine. It is the long sheet of papercompressed between rollers after leaving the cylinder of the machine,but not thoroughly dried, and is apparently taken in this condition justas it leaves the paper-machine and wound upon a cylindrical former. Itsdampness will cause the plies to unite sufciently for formingroving-cans', as but little strength is required for these articles. Itcould not be used for flour-barrels, however', because the layers orplies will not unite to form a hard, compact, and homogeneous mass, butwill crack and peel oil' lif subjected to rough usage. Theroving-canscontain very light cotton or woolen vrovings to be spun intoyarns, and a slight,

thin receptacle Vonly is required to protect it,

`Whereas a lourbarrel is filled by pressure and the filled barrel weighstwo hundred pounds. It must, therefore, be made strong enough to sustainthe force applied in packing thegiiour, as well as the rough handling towhich it is afterward subj ectedduring transportation.

^ In the suggestion referred to no .special construction of thecylindrical former is described, nor are any means mentioned forremoving the cans therefrom when completed. The presumption, therefore,is that the ordinary. solid cylinder is employed, and thatv the -cansare dried upon the cylinder before'removal, because they could not beremoved from a solid cylinderwhile Wet without, severingthem in alongitudinal direction, as hereinbefore described. Neither is itnecessary that the roving cans shall be strengthened and compacted,because they hold but a few pounds of roving, and are not exposed to theaction of the weather, but are attached to the frame of aspinning-machine and constantly kept in the factory; nor are theroving-cans smoothed and hardened for the same reason. They are not madeon an expanding cylinder; they are not removed from the cylinder in awet condition; they are not compacted, hard'- ened, strengthened, andsmoothed between rollers, and cannot, therefore, form liourbarrels.

In carrying out my invention, I take the soft web ofpulp directly fromthe coucher or cylinder of a wet-paper machine and conduct it around anexpanding cylinder until it forms a cylinder of the requisitethicknessfor a flour barrel. 'I'he web is then torn oif, and the expandingcylinder, with the barrel on it, removed, and another put in its placeto receive `the web of pulp for forming a second barrel, and so onindefinitely. While the barrel is still wet the forming-cylinder iscontracted and withdrawnf'rom it, and the barrelset away to-be dried bysuitable means. It is necessary to the formation of a flour-barrel ofthis thick strong material, that it shall be dried uniformly, tolprcventthe surfaces from cracking, so as to expose the unsized inner ber to theattacks of moisture after the barrel has been lled. This uniformity indry-` ing cannot be attained if the barrel is dried upon theforming-cylinder, because one surface dries faster than the other, andby contraction breaks the outer fiber or skin, and allows it to peeloff; and if an unyielding or non-contracting cylinder is used the barrelcannot be removed from it until dried. It is therefore necessary toemploy the contracting and expanding cylinder, as I propose, in order toremove it from the barrel while the latter is in a wet state, and itmust be removed while in this state, to be uniformly dried.

Y The soft web of pulp cannot be calendered upon the forming-cylinder,because the power necessary for this purpose would press the pulp oli'the ends of the cylinder as well as roll it 11p-in a ridge in front ofthe calender, to be scraped off by the latter. Neither can the pressureof the calender be applied gradually, because it must first beexceedingly light, and lastly very heavy. In order to attain the latterresult it must be large and strong, and these requisites preclude thepossibility of the very light pressure first re` quired, even if thesegradual actions could be reached. The time when the very light pressureshould cease, the next heavier begin, and so on to the heaviest, couldnever be determined, owing to the wide diiference in the consistency andcomposition of paper-pulps. For these reasons all paper-machines are proThese successive actions are only applicable to a web of pulp passing ina line between the rolls and calenders, and cannot be apphed to thecircular body of pulp on the forming-cylinder. The barrel, therefore,cannot be cal` endered on the formingcylinder, and if not calendered itwill shrink during the process of drying. For this reason I employ thecontracting cylinder, and am thereby enabled to remove the uncalenderedbarrel in a wet condition, so that it can be dried uniformly, to preventcracking and peeling. After the barrel has been removed from theexpanding cylinder and dried, I harden and compress both its interiorand exterior surfaces between the two small rollers E E, which aregeared together at one end, as shown in Fig. 3, and operated by a crank,F, or other suitable means. The barrel is slipped upon one of theserollers, and the two are adjusted so as to clampit between them, as.shown in Fig. 4. They are then set in motion, and move the barrelbetween them, so as to act simultaneously upon both its interior andexte rior surfaces, to compress, harden, smooth, and inish the same.When the-barrel is removed from the rollers it is smooth upon the insideand outside, and its surfaces are rolled down` so` that the bodyof thebarrel forms i i i a compact and homogeneous fabric, impervious tomoisture, and capable of resisting the rough usage to which allourbarrel is subjected.

After having been hardened and finished as above described the heads andhoops are applied to complete the barrel for use. The heads are made ofany suitable material, let into the ends'of the barrel wholly orpartially, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In Fig. 7 it is shown held betweenthe hoops A B, but in Fig. 6 it is formed with a ilange, C, resting uponthe edge of the barrel, and is held in place by nails D driven into itsedge below the flange and through the ends of the barrel. Exteriorhoopsl are also applied as shown in Fig. 5, which represents thecompleted barrel. i

I do not coniine myself to any special manner of applying the heads, asthis may be varied almost indefinitely.

If desired,vthe expanding cylinder may be provided with a blanket of anysuitable kind to cover the joints, and admit of its easy removal fromthe barrel.

The protecting hoops may be composed of paper, wood, or metal, or theymay be made by winding a narrow web of soft pulp directly upon thebarrel, during the process of forming the latter, or after it has beenformed and dried.

'Having thus described my invention, what its interior and exteriorsurfaces between roll- I claim is f, ers of less diameter than saidbarrel, substan- The method of forming a `seamless barrel tially asdescribed. from soft paperlpulp by first Winding. the T i `Web uponaneXpaning-cylinder'to the 1ef- J' L THOMbOL' quisite thickness, andthen removing and Vdry- Witnesses:

`ing the package so formed, and lastly hard- F. N. DAVIS,l 4ening,compacting7 smoothing7 and. nishing A. C. HUTGHISON.

